The Soul Within
by Iggy'sGurl120
Summary: When a family of Rogues undergo a tragedy like no other,Soul goes to the clan cats for help. WHen she meets a cat that has been rejected time and time again, she finds love where she doesnt expect to.
1. Prologue

Prologue

She was cold…so very cold. There was a wet feeling all around her, wet and cold; freezing her all the way to the bone. She shivered again and then felt a warm, scratchy tounge brush up her fur, pushing it the wrong way and warming her for a tenth of a second, then she returned to the dark, cold place where she had been for the whole time she could remember. There was a floating for a moment then she felt warmth all around her. The familiar thumping returned to her and she snuggled closer to it.

She felt a shiver travel up her spine and felt a pitiful squeak exit her lips. The tounge returned and warmed her again. She felt a nudge at her side and warmth spread there, she snuggled against it, as well as the large beating body that was radiating heat. She smelled something sweet then, it was drawing her towards the beating, and then she latched onto it, warm, sweet liquid spilling into her parched throat. She squeezed closer to the warmth and drank it up greedily.

There was a gust of cold and she was dragged away from the warmth and back into the wet, cold substance, terrified, she let out a wail and cried for the warmth she wanted back. The floating sensation was repeated and she was placed back at the mass, she began to nurse hungrily again , snuggling into the heat all around her. More of the delicious liquid spilled into her empty pit of a stomach. She felt herself being dragged away again, but this time, she recognized the floating sensation, which brought safety and warmth. She closed her eyes and let herself be tugged away.


	2. Five become 2

Chapter 1

"Quincy, you stupid furball! You're gonna scare the whole forest away!" A young tom screeched at his brother, his black fur standing on end. He shuffled his feet angrily, his green eyes blazing, as he stared at Quincy, who was trudging out of the stream, water sliding off his dark gray pelt. Quincy kept his eyes downcast, and silently tried to walk away from the stream he had fallen in.

"Sorry Tangle, I didn't mean to… promise" he muttered, not looking his brother in the eye. Socks gave an exasperated sigh and drew his tail over his brother's shoulder.

"s'all right. Just be more careful next time, 'kay?" He said, Quincy nodded swiftly and parted his jaws to taste the air. Just at that moment, there was a rustle of leaves, a screech of pain and a triumphant yowl from just behind them. Moments later, their sister slid out from the trees, pulling a gray mouse from the bramble thicket behind them. Her pale fur was slicked a little on her stomach with mud, but her one blue, and one green eye gleamed with pride.

"Lookit! Look what I did!" She squeaked, bouncing up and down, the two toms rolled their eyes at her.

"Shudup Soul." Quincy muttered in an aggravated tone, flicking his tail tip. Soul drew her one white paw through the mud and looked up innocently at her brothers.

"I can help you guys catch something too…if you want…" She murmured. The two brothers looked at each other and Tangle snorted, stalking off into the forest. Quincy batted one of Soul's ears with his paw.

"He's just mad you made a catch before him, you being the runt and all. He'll get over himself. Take that back to the den, we'll be back before too long." The gray tom meowed, glancing down at the tiny she-cat. Soul sighed and grabbed her catch, then, with one last look towards her brothers, took off to the den, dragging her mouse beside her. She charged through the hedge that divided twoleg place and the forest and padded as quietly as she could over the hot pavement of the road. The mid-day sun blazed down at her. _What a nice day_. She thought, taking a luxurious stretch, then taking off again. She sprinted down the pavement until she reached a dead-end. The barrier in front of her was cold and silver, shining like a beacon in the sun. The rock beneath her feet had turned from gravely and dark, to multicolored and rounded stones, all stuck into place against each other. On one side, a brick house stood, proud and regal, while the other side was a beaten down shack, the wood walls beginning to rot.

Soul glanced back to make sure no one was following, then squeezed in an opening in the side of the beaten down house. A small sprinkle of dust fell on her coat and she shook it out with a hiss of annoyance. Then the small gray she-cat made her way up the twoleg stairs and into an open room. From there, she sat down her mouse and walked over to the corner, and pulled on a string that was hanging from the ceiling, a small door dropped open and Soul purred in satisfaction. She pranced over to her mouse, picked it up, then took a running leap at the opening. She barely made it but managed to pull herself up. She put her catch down yet again and turned to close the door, but found herself face to face with a pair of glowing green eyes. She jumped back with a gasp, but them recognized her father.

"Oh! Hi daddy!" She purred, weaving around his front paws as he leapt in. He let out a mrrow of amusement. Then her mother jumped in as well, her blue eyes sparkling and carrying two squirrels by their tails, her stomach round with her next litter of kits. She looked around calmly and then dropped the squirrels.

"Where's your brothers?" She asked Soul looking around again.

"Out hunting. They didn't want to come back with me, since I caught mine first." Soul rolled her mis-matched eyes and shrugged. Then she turned and placed the plump gray mouse in the pile of fresh leaves, as her mother did the same with the squirrels. Soul's father headed over to the thin patch of sunlight streaming through the planks of wood, and began to clean himself. Her mother looked at her and scoffed, then began to lick her daughter fervently, clearing away the dirt smudges from her silky gray pelt. Her mother proceeded to very carefully clean the white spiral on Soul's haunch.

Soul closed her eyes and let the feeling take her back to when she was a kit, curled up at her mother's side, and when they had all gotten their names.

_ "Sneaker, Look here! The little black tom is all tangled up in his own paws!" The calico she-cat giggled, nudging her son. He squirmed a little, then went back to nursing. The black and white tom standing over her gave a mrrow of laughter and licked her ear affectionately. _

_ "That's what we'll call him, Tangle." He licked his son with a quick, gentle stroke. The she-cat smiled, her blue eyes alight with bliss. _

_ "And this tom here, he looks like that tom you used to live with under that holly bush, remember? Quinton?" She sated with a purr. _

_ "Ah, yes I remember, and he sure does. We'll name him Quincy though, I think Quinton is a bit of an odd name._

"_The she-cat gave the kit a prod with her nose, and he sqeaked in reply. "And this last one, the she-cat, look at that marking on her haunch! It's like she's got her soul on the outside!" Sneaker leaned in to get a closer look at the wispy white spiral on her fur. _

"_Then we'll call her Soul." He purred, delighted. The she-cat rubbed her nose against his and then licked all the kits. _

"_They'll have a good life." She murmered, before drifting into an uneasy sleep. The tom watched her, his gaze soft and loving. _

"_They will, I'll make sure of that, Skitty." He whispered, then settled down beside her. _

"Soul."

"Soooul?"

"Soul, get up you lazy squirrel!" Voices whispered all around her, and finally she raised her head, to see her brothers standing around her, prodding her with their paws and calling her name. oh, I must have fallen asleep…

She stood and shook dust out of her pelt then looked at her brothers.

"What do you want, flea for brains?"

"Watch your tongue." Their mother's voice bounced around the room.

"Yes mother." She glared at Tangle and Quincy, who were trying to stifle their mrrows.

"Come, kits, time to eat now." Skitty purred.

"We're not kit's anymore, mom!" Tangle snorted as he plucked up a thrush. Quincy followed and snatched up his own vole.

"Tangle is right, mom, pretty soon, we'll be going to make our own homes, and have our own families." He spoke with an air of pride and excitement, as if it was the next day. Skitty looked at Sneaker with an anxious look in her eyes. Soul picked up the mouse she had caught and settled down in between her brothers. Their father stood up and eyed them all, a teasing look in his eye, before fetching a squirrel for both him and Skitty.

"You sure you want to do that so soon?" He was hardly able to hid his amusement. "You'll have to care for a mate, and kits, and find a home, and keep it nice and clean and safe, and learn how to hunt, and how to be a good parent, and how to fight-" He was cut off and Skitty slapped her tail over his jaws.

"That's enough of that talk now, Sneaker. They've got lots of time left here before I'm ready to kick 'em out for good." She sounded sad, like she would never be able to kick them out. Soul bit into her Mouse and chewed it slowly, savoring every flavor; the sweet, warm meat doused her hunger, and made her sleepy again. She ate it all like this, slow, careful, neat bites, concentrating on the flavor. Her brothers, however, just stuck their muzzles in and ate it all as fast as their mouths could keep up. Silence followed as they all devoured their meals. Soul was placing her bones into a pile beside the far wall, and then looked around at her home.

The light was filtering through the cracks in the creaking boards. There were tiny gaps beneath her feet, where she could crouch down and see what was going on below her. There were plush, slick leaves scattered around in piles to make nests for them all. Soul padded quietly over to one of them and curled up in it. She pulled her tail over her nose and closed her eyes, becoming more and more tired by the second she daydreamed about sunlight and green grass, and prey and running around in the forest. Her mind wandered through the forest and over the creek, over the moors and to the hills, where, beyond there, the lake stood. The magnificent, shining body of water, where, it was rumored that cats lived. Soul's parents told her that these were just crazy elder tales, and not to believe, but still, Soul wondered.

Soul was brought from her slumber by a deafening crash. She jerked awake and looked around. The walls were trembling and dust was pouring down on the family. There was another crash and the ground shook so hard the door popped open. Soul tensed up and looked around at her family. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Skitty was running towards her kits, when part of the ceiling collapsed and landed in a heap on her. Soul tried to wail but nothing came out. She couldn't hear anything but her own heart. She saw Sneaker run and paw through the wreckage until he fount their mother. But she didn't get up, she never did, and Sneaker stood and caterwauled in shock and greif. Everything came back in a split second and Soul felt herself being nudged to her feet by Tangle. His green eyes were burning with fear. He pushed her towards the door, when another crash sounded.

"Dad! We need to get out of here!" Tangle wailed at his father. Sneaker threw daggers at him and hissed, standing over Skitty's lifeless body, his fur puffing up, making him twice his size. Quincy ran up and joined his siblings at the exit. Tangle shook his head, his eyes showing pain and regret.

"Come on! We have to get out of here, we can't help him now." He schreeched over the loud bangs that reverberated throughout their home. More and more of the flimsy structure collapsed around them, and dust poured out of every crack. The three siblings raced through the nest and down the stairs. The walls started to cave and they poured on the speed. Soul, being the smallest and swiftest, made her way to the front, followed by Tangle, then Quincy. Soul left the nest at top speed and ran across to the other den. She ran under the foundation, into the cold mud, and turned to watch the destruction behind her. Tangle burst through, then the house fell, _Quincy…no…._

And so five became three.


End file.
